CWC History: India's best players in each edition from 1975-2015

#7 2003 - Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin was the man of the tournament

The Master Blaster features in the list once again, in India's dreamlike transformation from a meek surrender to the Aussies to surge into the finals, only to stumble upon the same roadblock once again. However, the 2003 World Cup marked that the trio of Tendulkar-Dravid-Ganguly was here to stay and be the face of a resurgent Indian side which was bogged down by the match-fixing wave.

This was Tendulkar's World Cup, as he was head and shoulders ahead of every batsman in terms of the sheer volume of runs, scoring more than 200 runs in excess of the second-placed Indian captain.

With one century against Kenya and six half-centuries in 11 matches, an aggregate of 673 runs, which is still a record, an average of more than 60 and a strike-rate of close to 90, Sachin had performed well in almost every match, except the finals, which ended in yet another heartbreak.

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#8 2007 - Virender Sehwag

Sehwag after scoring his century against Bermuda

In arguably India's worst performances ever in the marquee tournament, a dubious drubbing against an amateur Bangladesh side resulted in a notorious group-stage exit for the team.

Marred by controversies like the sacking of Sourav Ganguly as captain and the outlandish coaching etiquettes of Greg Chappel, the atmosphere in the dressing room wasn't reassuring either. An overhaul was due, the one which gave India the most successful leader the tournament has seen - Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Virender Sehwag was the best performer in a forgettable tournament as he contributed in all three matches- two wickets against Bangladesh, a blistering 114 off 89 balls in the landslide victory against the minnows, Bermuda, and a fighting 48 against Sri Lanka in a must-win encounter. He averaged 54 and managed a strike rate of 118, much like any other time during his explosive batsmanship.